The present invention concerns an underlay mat for floor coverings.
Floor coverings exist in a large variety of embodiments. In addition to the very widely used floor panels made of wood or wood composites, increasing use is also made of coverings made from plastic materials such as PVC and, more recently, polyurethane (PU). As a general rule, these floor coverings are bonded directly to the substrate by means of, for example, a liquid adhesive applied to the floor screed.
Floors of this type, however, exhibit insufficient footfall sound insulation and reduction in walking noise. Walking comfort is also unsatisfactory. Furthermore, the process of laying the floor covering should be as easy, rapid and clean as possible, and when using a liquid adhesive this is only possible with great care and a lot of experience. It is also desirable to be able to use a floating technique to lay flexible floor covering elements of the above-mentioned type, e.g. as used for wood panels with locking profiles. It has not been possible to do this so far using known means. The underlay mats used for the floating installation of laminate floors cannot be used for plastic flooring, for example, because they do not meet the desired requirements. A mat of this type should exhibit good characteristics in terms of footfall sound insulation and absorption of walking noise whilst also being very thin, remaining permanently elastic and flexible in order to compensate for occasional unevenness in the substrate, and having good rebound characteristics to counteract occasional loads. Further desirable characteristics include easy removal of the floor covering and high dimensional stability.
In connection with plastic floors, increased requirements in terms of their environmental compatibility represent an additional challenge. PVC materials, for example, often contain harmful substances such as e.g. plasticizers, which are considered to be detrimental to health. The underlay mat should be as free as possible of such materials considered harmful to the environment and human health, without impairment to mechanical properties such as flexibility and elasticity. At the same time, it should not itself be damaged in any way by emissions emanating from the floor coverings laid on top of it, such as PVC floors, which may penetrate downward into the mat. There is a risk, for example, that the underlay mat is destroyed over time by the aforementioned plasticizers or other substances.
Hence it is a task of this invention to provide a novel type of underlay mat for floor coverings, which is easy and clean to lay and practically 100% emission-free, and is not impaired in any way by the emissions from a floor covering laid on top of it, so that it retains the desired mechanical properties over time. This underlay mat should also meet the above-mentioned requirements in terms of footfall sound insulation, walking noise reduction, elasticity, rebound characteristics, dimensional stability and ease of removal.
According to the invention, these tasks are solved by an underlay mat with the features of the claims.